Tap, I completely agree with you. I think you are DEAD ON with both speakers. Jafant, the Treo's have no powered sub. they are the same drivers that the 5 uses, but with no powered sub so I will be driving them with my Ayre integrated with no Xover. Funny as the first order xover speakers I've heard seem to have magic that other speakers all seem to lack for me. There are very very few speakers as 'real' as the Vandy's seem to me. As for being extended, I think they have been the MOST coherent speakers I've heard in ages and that goes for panel types or ribbons. On those, the bass has never been fast enough to keep up with the top end. It all gets very lost on me when they try to integrate dynamic drivers. I used to LOVe the old Apogee's. I nearly got them years ago, but went with Proacs instead. I just didn't love their bass and it's integration. As for Wilson's and Thiels they've always felt fatiguing to me. I know that when I go listen to speakers, it gets old after the first hour or so much of the time. To me, tha'ts the red flag for fatigue. It's just my ears and not saying they are better than anyone else's, but if I go listen with friends or family, they are ready to leave or move onto another set of speakers the same time I am. That tells me that fatigue has set in. I spent all day at Audio Connection when Richard V. was there a few months back. It was awesome listening to his whole line up all day. I stayed til he closed the store listening and loving every kind of music and I was unfamiliar with most of it, but it kept drawing me in and not letting me go. I wasn't waiting on the 'next' song to hear what else the speaker can do. I actually was just enjoying the music, which for me is what it's all about. That's why I don't change my component like some people change underwear. I have three full systems I'm selling off right now as I've had them for a while and for various reasons just need only one main system now. I realize that my SS stuff is all as tube like as you could find in it's various price ranges, so I know I gravitate towards the tube sound, however I have come to realize that I must have full extension on both ends to enjoy music. I used on only love monitors since they integrated so well and I loved what they did for mids and top end (at least for the monitors I loved and purchased), but after hearing the Treo's, I realized how badly I needed the low end and that's the most expensive part of audio.
